Istanbul prepares to mark 1453 conquest

A 1,200-strong team has been working to prepare a major celebration of the 563rd anniversary of Istanbul’s conquest by the Ottomans – an event which will attract 1 million people, city authorities said on Thursday.

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality said in a statement that the huge crew had been working on preparations at the city’s seaside Yenikapi venue, which is being decorated with advanced technology.

On May 29, 1453, Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II conquered Istanbul, then called Constantinople, from where the Byzantines had ruled the Eastern Roman Empire for more than 1,000 years. The conquest transformed the city, once the heart of the Byzantine realm, into the capital of the new Ottoman Empire.

Around 1 million people are expected to attend Sunday’s celebrations where they will enter through 150 gates amid tight security, the municipality said.